Toho Water Taste Test and Tour this Wednesday - 2/15/2012
Mary Rose Guidone
Toho Water Authority has begun the pilot testing for the MIEX Ion Exchange treatment process at the Harmony water treatment Plant. The MIEX Ion Exchange is expected to remove 90% of hydrogen sulfide, 70% of total organic compounds (TOC) and will use chlorine as the disinfectant.
You are invited to come out and participate in a taste test and tour of this new process. This event will be held Wednesday, February 15th during the hours of 3pm to 6pm. The physical address of the Harmony water treatment plant is 7200 E. Irlo Bronson Hwy, St. Cloud, Fl 34771.
Thank you.
Mary Rose Guidone
Toho Water Authority
Utility Information Coordinator
951 MLK Blvd.
Kissimmee, Florida 34741
work 407.944.5142
cell 407.572.7586
fax 407.343.4371
Geo
using the new MIEX method. The taste was not bad.
Thank you to Mary and Toho for giving Harmony residents the opportunity to
do this. I think that this outreach shows consideration for Harmony
residents.
While there, I also met Brian Schuette, a representative of Moss Kelley, the
company installing the new MIEX system for Toho. Mr. Schuette was very
friendly and informative. He even let me take a sample of the newly treated
water home in a gallon jug for my family to try.
When I got home I had my folks do a taste test comparing the filtered water
from our refrigerator (which in turn gets it water from our whole house
filter, in other words the water from our refrigerator is filtered twice) to
the MIEX treated water provided by Mr. Schuette to the water source coming
into our home unfiltered from Toho. Here are the results from the second
blind taste test that was similar to the first:
1: C, B, A
2: C, A, B
3: C, B, A
4: A, C, B
A = unfiltered Toho source water
B = new MIEX treated water
(shaken in jug to aerate)
C = refrigerator water (doubly filtered)
The results are shown in order of decreasing water taste quality.
The last result looks like an outlier, but I think it indicates something
surprising. It has been years since I've tasted or smelled unfiltered water
from Toho. The last time I did, it stunk of hydrogen sulfide and it tasted
pretty bad.
What I tasted and smelled last night of the unfiltered Toho source water was
not nearly as bad as I remember. I think that whatever Toho has been doing
over the past few years has improved the taste and smell of the water quite
a bit. I didn't realize this until last night.
Is the MIEX treated water better tasting than the current unfiltered Toho
source water? Yes. Is it dramatically better than the unfiltered Toho source
water that I remember from several years ago? Yes. Is the MIEX treated water
dramatically better tasting than the current unfiltered Toho source water?
No, but again, I think it is better.
Besides being a little better tasting than the current unfiltered Toho
source water, I think that the MIEX treated water solves the remaining
issues with contaminants in our water (according to Mr. Schuette). This is
important.
Also, the MIEX method returns Toho to using chlorine rather than chloramines
to disinfect the water. It is my understanding (although I have gotten
conflicting feedback about this) that chorine is more readily removed by
activated carbon filters than chloramines. Mr. Schuette said that he would
look into this and let me know.
The bottom line: my impression is that the proposed MIEX approach offered by
Toho is an improvement over what we have now.